


with our hands over our hearts

by Nazezdha321



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Baby Birb, Family Reunions, Feels, Fluff, Minor Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Minor Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, i am still not over the morse-hunter children, this time x2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nazezdha321/pseuds/Nazezdha321
Summary: Christmases with the Morse-Hunters after the spy's goodbye.
Relationships: Lance Hunter/Bobbi Morse
Comments: 18
Kudos: 28
Collections: Agents of SHIELD Secret Santa 2020





	with our hands over our hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the9muses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the9muses/gifts).



> huntingbird's turn for a happy christmas fic, except hunter is a drama queen that made me write way more than i wanted. 
> 
> "no," he said. "you don't get to write a little bit about isabelle on christmas morning. instead you get to fuck around with timelines and write a bunch of extra christmases and a family reunion and give us a whole other child and i'm gonna do whatever i want." 
> 
> and i listened, so enjoy <3

“It’s a spy’s goodbye,” Bobbi whispered, holding up her shot with tears in her eyes. 

Hunter glanced around, watching as the other agents followed. This was how it was ending? This was goodbye? 

They drank their shots, all of them, and exited the bar single file. It seemed so fast, so lonely all of a sudden - where was Daisy’s laughter and Fitz’s smile, where was May’s unimpressed glares and Mack’s… 

oh, Mack. 

He was still holding his shot. It looked so small in his hand. He took a sip, just a little one, and left the rest in the glass by the bar. There was probably some significance to that but all Hunter could think about was his own heavy heart and Bobbi crying beside him and Mack leaving. 

This really  _ was  _ how it was ending. 

(And then they were gone). 

(If Hunter didn’t have to drive back to the hotel room, he would have taken every single shot on the table). 

**\---**

Bobbi said that Christmas didn’t feel like Christmas without the team, and she was right. They bought a tree together, and it felt romantic and fun and Hunter was confident that they would be fine, but the second they stood there at eight in the morning with a few presents (mostly from their parents and to each other) under their little tree with hardly any ornaments… it just wasn’t the same. 

There were no spiked punch or drinking games, and even though they had little sprigs of mistletoe all around the apartment, they knew where it was, which was hardly fun. 

Daisy used to put mistletoe everywhere, so much so that during December you couldn’t walk anywhere without your eyes on the ceiling. She had a habit of sneaking it into corners and casually pointing out as she walked by that they were standing under the mistletoe. 

Mack would always help Hunter buy a ridiculous amount of alcohol for both personal consumption and to spike the punch at the holiday parties every year. Coulson kept trying to come up with ways to catch them in the act, but he eventually gave up and told them to leave a few drinks untouched. 

It was the little things that made their team a family and their holiday season special. 

But Hunter and Bobbi did their best, and it was enjoyable enough even with the feeling of loss surrounding them. They went to their neighbors’ for drinks that night and got caught under their own creatively placed mistletoe. 

(Hunter considered proposing to Bobbi that night but decided against it). 

**\---**

Three years and one little girl later, Hunter did propose. Bobbi accepted while four-year-old Isabelle clapped her hands respectfully and smiled wide for the pictures. She helped Hunter plan it out and begged to be both the flower girl and the ring bearer for the wedding. They let her because the only other kid they knew was Robin, who wanted to be a bridesmaid. 

They didn’t get married on Christmas, but it was in the winter, on December 2nd. It was snowing and everyone was freezing and Hunter seriously regretted his decision to get married in the snow, but they wanted the team to be able to watch if they could. 

(When a not-so-invisible Quinjet took off from a nearby rooftop after the ceremony, Hunter knew they were). 

**\---**

The new deal was negotiated with the new Russian prime minister when Isabelle was six years old on December 26th. Bobbi and Hunter still couldn’t work for SHIELD, visit any of their bases, or have physical contact or meetings with anyone affiliated with SHIELD in the present. But they could text and call and when FitzSimmons left the agency a year later, they finally got to see them again. 

They started doing Christmas together every other year. Alya and Izzy got along well and Jemma made the best treacle tart. FitzSimmons usually traveled from their home in Perthshire so that they could visit the team, but Bobbi, Hunter, and Isabelle went to Scotland one year when Izzy was seven.

That was the same year they decided to adopt another little one. 

**\---**

Hunter woke up to a small face pressed against his. 

“Dad,” whispered the tiny voice in his ear, “it’s  _ Christmas _ .”

“Is it now?” he asked, tapping Bobbi to make sure she was up. He glanced at the clock.  _ 7:31.  _ Well, Izzy had probably waited for all she could. 

“Mhmm,” she mumbled, crawling around in the darkness and managing to hit not one but both of his knees while she made her way over to Bobbi’s side of the bed. “Mom, wake up! It’s Christmas!”

“Why don’t you go downstairs and we’ll be down in a second,” she suggested. 

Eight-year-old Isabelle flipped off the bed dramatically and scampered to the doorway. Hunter heard her stumble down the stairs, probably taking them two at a time. “Be careful!” he called, though he doubted it did any good. 

“I knew it was a bad idea to have a house with stairs,” Bobbi muttered. 

“We needed the guest rooms,” he replied. “Besides, we’re expanding in two months.” 

“Seven weeks,” she confirmed. “You think Izzy will be a good big sister?” 

“I think she’ll start screaming if we don’t get down there.” 

Bobbi laughed lightly and they walked downstairs together to find Isabelle digging out presents from under the tree. She hadn’t started unwrapping them, but all of hers were in a neat stack next to the couch. “You’re in charge of pictures to send to the team,” she whispered. 

Hunter grabbed his phone and gave her a thumbs up. 

**\---**

The next Christmas was just their family again. Bobbi wanted Anneliese to have a quieter Christmas before she went wild with Alya and FitzSimmons. She was shy, and it took a little while for her to warm up to Izzy, but once she did, they were best friends. 

She had already met her aunts and uncles either virtually or in person, including Mack and Elena, who had both retired. They were spending Christmas with Flint and Elena’s family in Colombia, but they promised to come for Christmas the next year. 

“Okay, this one’s from Nainai,” Bobbi said, handing the package to Anneliese. Isabelle watched Hunter take the video, already enchanted by the wonders of technology. 

Anneliese unpeeled the wrapping paper slowly, trying to keep it all in one piece. Hunter noticed that she did that a lot - when cutting something out, or taking the wrappers off of Starburst candies, she liked to keep the paper intact. 

She opened the gift (boxing gloves,  _ of course _ ), and immediately clapped her hands with happiness. “They’re so pretty! Thank you Nainai!” 

Hunter sent the video to the group chat, which was already flooded with various videos and photos of everyone else, including a memorable one of Daisy opening her present from May and Coulson (adoption papers). 

He could almost see May’s small smile once she watched the video. They hadn’t met Anneliese or Isabelle in person but he was hoping (praying) that maybe one day, they would. 

**\---**

“Dad, come on, we’re going to be late!” Isabelle shouted. 

Hunter was, in fact, the only member of the Morse-Hunter family that was actually ready to go, but he sighed and got up anyway. 

The third and final deal that was letting them see their team (family) again was the result of a ridiculous amount of personal favors from Mack and several threats from May that had not gone unnoticed by the government. Hunter couldn’t be more grateful to both of them. 

Anneliese was still messing with her hair in the bathroom - she wanted to make a good impression - and Isabelle was missing one left shoe and one right sock - she was sixteen and therefore Too Cool To Make Good Impressions (Hunter was sure she would make one anyway). 

“You ready to go, love?” he asked, poking his head in the bathroom. 

Fourteen-year-old Anneliese shrugged, still fidgeting absentmindedly but leaving her hair alone. “What if they don’t like me?” 

“Impossible,” Hunter declared. Anneliese glanced up at him, her hands stilling for a second. 

“No, it isn’t. I’m not like Mom and Nainai and everybody.” 

“Neither am I,” he said, “and they like me all right.” 

“Nainai doesn’t like you.” 

She had a point. “Well, yeah, but Uncle Fitz and Uncle Mack and Aunt Daisy like me! Plus, they’ve already met you, just not in person.” 

“It’s not the same,” Anneliese murmured, her head falling.

Hunter sighed. “You’re right. But you’re also brave, and kind, and sweet, and beautiful, and bloody  _ brilliant _ , Anneliese Morse-Hunter. And if they don’t like you - which  _ is  _ impossible, believe me - then they don’t know what they’re missing.” 

Anneliese’s smile grew bigger with each word. She threw her arms around him and then ran downstairs, two steps at a time, to join her sister in the car. 

\--- 

“So much for goodbye, eh?” Hunter whispered in her ear as they started their descent into the hangar of the new base that morning, which was probably going to be the best Christmas morning ever. 

“Don’t pretend you didn’t miss them,” Bobbi whispered back. 

The team was lined up in the hangar when they slowly walked down the ramp. May had lines around her eyes. Coulson had gray hair. Daisy had purple hair. Flint was taller than Hunter thought he would be, almost as tall as Mack, who looked older but had a bigger smile. FitzSimmons, Alya, Elena, even Piper, and Davis - everyone was there. 

They stood for half a second before Anneliese and Isabelle started screaming and hugging and crying and running towards their bewildered aunts and uncles. Hunter saw Daisy take pictures of Isabelle and May and Anneliese and Elena. 

“Welcome home,” Mack said when Hunter went to hug his friend. 

He glanced at the unfolding chaos around him. “Good to be back.” 

**Author's Note:**

> that's it. that's the fic. i hope you enjoyed, especially my lovely giftee!! q i love you!! and thanks to agentsofchallenges/the aos fandom friends discord for hosting the secret santa <3 
> 
> comments and kudos are welcome/appreciated/the sweetest thing in the world. you can find me on tumblr @nazezdha321, come say hi or just stalk me like q did. 
> 
> thank you for reading, loves!! take care of yourselves <3


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